NBA Daily Fantasy Helper: Tuesday 2/2/16

Rookie Karl-Anthony Towns looks to continue to build his case for Rookie of the Year tonight in a dream matchup against the Lakers. Should you play him in DFS?

If you've never played daily fantasy basketball before, it's time to start. Unlike traditional leagues, you're able to select the players you want on that specific day only, giving you a different squad to root for each and every NBA night.

Today's lineups can be found here. The information below is to help you understand why particular players are being picked, because we don't want you going into the night completely blind. We want to help you. Keep in mind, however, that things often change up until tip-off, so make sure you're refreshing the optimal lineups as close to the start of games as possible.

Oh, and if you're interested, check out our daily fantasy basketball heat chart for today's slate. It's full of information like tonight's Vegas lines, team offensive and defensive efficiency ratings, pace, fantasy points against and so much more.

As for today's picks -- let's get to it.

The Best of the Best

James Harden (FD: $10,900, DK: $10,300) - After a somewhat slow start to the season, Harden seems to have found his groove as of late, averaging 29.4 points, 8.1 assists and 7.8 rebounds per game over his last nine outings. He's coming off of a 40-point, 11-assist, 7-rebound, 4-steal outing against Washington on Saturday, and should have his way with the aging Dwyane Wade tonight. Harden is our top overall projected player on the board.

Kyle Lowry (FD: $9,000, DK: $8,700) - The Suns have been in shambles without their two star guards Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight, now finding themselves ranked 28th in our power rankings. They also are 26th in the league in Defensive Efficiency according to our metrics. They've allowed the second most fantasy points per game to opposing point guards on the year, which bodes incredibly well for Lowry who should absolutely dominate Archie Goodwin and his 110 Defensive Rating.

Carmelo Anthony (FD: $9,000, DK: $8,400) - Anthony has looked spectacular in the two games since returning to the Knicks lineup, scoring 21.5 points to go along with 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals per game over that span. Tonight, he draws a plus matchup against a Celtics' squad that has allowed the 10th most fantasy points per game to opposing small forwards on the year in what Vegas expects to be tonight's highest scoring game, making him an elite play in all formats for tonight's small slate.

Top Mid-Range Values

Karl-Anthony Towns (FD: $8,600, DK: $7,800) - Towns is as hot as anyone in the NBA right now, averaging 22.7 points, 12.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.3 blocks in 34.1 minutes per game with six double-doubles over his last seven outings. He draws a dream matchup against a Lakers' defense that ranks dead last in the league in Defensive Efficiency 29th in the league in Rebounding Differential (-4.4), and should be in store for another monster game tonight.

Chris Bosh (FD: $7,600, DK: $7,700) - The Rockets have struggled to slow down opposing big men all season long, giving up the most fantasy points per game to opposing power forwards and the 11th most to centers on the year. With Hassan Whiteside out again tonight, Bosh should see a boost in both minutes and usage tonight and should have little trouble taking advantage of the outstanding matchup against Houston.

Kristaps Porzingis (FD: $6,700, DK: $7,000) - Much like the Rockets, the Celtics have not faired well against opposing power forwards this season, giving up the fourth most fantasy points per game to the position on the year. Porzingis' unique size and skill-set should give the undersized Celtics' front court fits en route to a big performance in what should be a very competitive, high-scoring affair.

Basement Ballers

Gorgui Dieng (FD: $5,500, DK: $5,400) - Dieng has been a revelation for the short-handed Timberwolves as of late, averaging 16.8 points, 10 boards and 2 dimes over his last four games. He has played at least 38 minutes in each of his last two outings, and should see another massive workload tonight with Kevin Garnett and Nikola Pekovic both expected to sit out tonight's matchup with the defensively-challenged Lakers.

Jabari Parker (FD: $5,200, DK: $5,300) - Parker has seen a significant increase in playing time over the past month, playing an average of 33.7 minutes per game over his last 16 outings. He comes into tonight averaging 16.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in 38 minutes in his last two games, and should have little trouble reaching value tonight against a Portland interior defense that has given up the seventh most fantasy points per game to opposing power forwards on the season.

Zach LaVine (FD: $4,700, DK: $5,300) - Kevin Martin remains out of the Timberwolves lineup, which means Lavine will continue to see minutes at both point guard and shooting guard tonight. In his last four games while Martin has been sidelined, Lavine has averaged 22.3 points, 3 assists and 2.3 rebounds in 28.8 minutes per game. He should push for close to 30 minutes again tonight in a spectacular matchup against Los Angeles.